Carrier rod control for split seam fabric



Filed May 28, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 AITTORNEY Dec. 5, 1933. G. BITZER 1,938,207

CARRIER ROD CONTROL FOR SPLIT SEAM F ABRIC Filed May 28. 1931 s Sheets$he et 2 Ire-.i-

I N VEN TOR. Goi'iloi 1317 701,

ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 5, 1933. BlTZER 1,938,207

CARRIER ROD CONTROL FOR SPLIT SEAM FABRIC Filed May 28, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 ELIE-.3. FIG-.Q-

VINVENTOR. (1 027 105 1317301,

| I By x v AiToRNEY G. BITZER CARRIER ROD CONTROL FOR SPLIT SEAM FABRIC Dec. 5, 1933.

Filed May 28, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 IIII'Ill-lll ATTORNE S.

Dec. 5, G B|TZER 1,938,207

CARRIER ROD CONTROL FOR SPLIT SEAM FABRIC Filed May 28, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 5- fl l:- ll d V a b b l 6 l 47 5 ,y I fiw IN VEN TOR. Goiilol B z'fgpl' BY :6 s )7 A TTORNEYS.

Patented Dec. 5, 1933 CARRIER ROD CONTROL FOB SPLIT BEAM FABRIC Gottlob Bitzer, Wyomissing, Pa., assignor to Textile Machine Works, Wyomissing, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application May 28, 1931. Serial No. 540,524

11 Claims.

My invention relates to new and improved means for controlling the thread feeding traverse of the guide carriers of a full fashioned knitting machine having rod stop devices jointly shiftable from or toward one another for varying in successive courses the number of needles receiving such thread.

Such stop devices are old and well known and commonly employed for specific purposes as wid-' ening and narrowing travel of the rods controlled thereby, and the main objects of my present improvements are to adapt such stops for the production of well known sectional or split fabrics of varying section widths'and to insure the formation of suture seams of determined loop construction uniting the irregular section edges.

With the above main objects in view my invention comprises the improved mechanism and its automatic operative control as fully described in connection with the accompanying drawings, the novel features thereof being specifically set forth in the appended claims.

Fig. 1 shows in rear elevation a preferred embodiment of my invention as applied to a usual full fashioned knitting machine, the latter being sufficiently illustrated by indication of certain of its well known parts.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, indicating additional parts of such known knitting machine.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view, similar to Fig. 2 but taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the lower portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1.

Figs. 5, 6 and 7, are similar perspective detail views showing respectively three different positions of the nut-carried rod engaging slides determined by slur cock bar action on their control mechanism.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged showing of the latch mechanism actuated by the slur cock bar.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary detail of the carrier rods and their engaging slides, indicating the off-set extensions of certain of the latter.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary showing of a sectional fabric producedby my improvements, the loops being greatly enlarged to show their interengage- Y ment.

Fig. 11 is a diagrammatic showing of the car- 50 rier rod movements in successive courses corresponding with the several courses of the fabric shown in Fig. 10.

The drawings indicate a straight or full-fashioned knitting machine of usual construction and well known operation sufficientlyv disclosed for the purposes of the present improvements by showing its front beam 5, back beam 6, center bed 7, main cam shaft 8, slur-cock connecting bar 9 and car-' rier rods 10, all supported on or mounted in a series of frame members 11 (dotted outline). The operation of the machine is as heretofore, 'cam shaft 8 imparting determined movements, one of which is the reciprocative traversing of slur-cock connecting bar 9, and the latter through known friction box connecting means, not shown, coincidentally traverses determined carrier rods 10, except as said rods individually engage adjustably positioned movement-arresting stop nut slides to vary the number of needles to which their thread is fed, as usual and readily under- 7 stood.

Sectional or split-seam fabrics are commonly produced on such known machine by employing several carrier rods with their resting stop slides so set that successive portions of each needle 7 series receives a different thread, and the several sections thus formed are united by overlapping feed on adjacent section needles producing suture seams as heretofore, the nature of such seams depending as usual on the stop feed control of the several rods.

The sectional fabric shown in Fig. 10 is of the above general nature, the knitted loops being greatly enlarged to show their construction, and the three sectional areas having varying widths with two uniting sutures inclined across the wales and preferably of the known closed seam type formed by a normal overlapping on two needles.

My invention as above stated relates to improved automatic control of the several rods employed in making sectional fabrics, and the particular construction'of the drawings is adapted to produce the specific fabric shown in Fig. 10, as will now be fully described.

As a convenient means suitable for my present improvements, I preferably employ, as shown, a reversely threaded spindle 15 mounting jointly but reversely movable stop nuts 16 and 1'7 carrying as shown provision for a number of movably positioned rod stop slides adapting it for a variety of purposes as commonly desirable. Such spindle and its selective intermittent reverse rotations are not in themselves new and may be readilyunderstood by the following brief description. Spindle 15 carries a pair of reversely toothed gears 18 and 19 and a freely swinging arm 20 mounting a pair of pawls 21 and 22 so, linked to a cross arm 23 that movement of one pawl into engagement with its respective gear disengages the other pawl from its gear, providing for selected racking of spindle by swinging of arm as readily understood. Arm 20 is swung through a connecting link rod 24 by lever 25 acted on by a cam 26 on main cam shaft 8, except as said lever is held in raised position against its tensioning spring 27 by a catch lever 28 pivoted at 29 and freed by a suitable button on usual pattern chain 30 of the knitting machine. Extra high freeing buttons move catch lever 28 sufficiently to swing transversely a lever 30, pivotally carried on lever 25, with a link connection 31 to a lever 32 arranged to swing cross arm 23 in selectively positioning a pawl 21 or 22.

It will be readily seen that the above described known stop nuts in connection with usual end stops, not shown, may be readily employed to control the individual traverse of the three carrier rods required to feed the three separate threads of the fabric shown in Fig. 10, and to automatically vary the section widths thereof, as indicated, by proper position of suitable buttons on pattern chain 30. To form the closed seam sutures shown in the fabric of Fig. 10 however requires not only the normal setting of the slide stops to provide a two-needle overlap feed of the carrier rods, but in addition special construction and operative mechanism for the slide stops controlling the' traverse movements of the carrier rod feeding the intermediate section of the fabric as will now be described.

In the drawings 10, 10 and 10 indicate the three guide rods employed, provided with suitably flxed dogs 31 (Fig. 9) each adapted to engage its respective slide stop in nuts 16 and 17, and the rods 10- and 10 engage, as usual, end stops, not shown, to limit their outward travel as heretofore. Rod 10' travels between its usual end stop and engagement of its dog with the inner face of its slide stop 35 in nut 1'7; and in similar manner rod 10 travels between its end stop and engagement of its dog with the inner face of its slide stop 36 in nut 16. Intermediate rod 10 is provided with two dogs, as shown, which normally limit its travel by engaging the outer faces of special slide stops 3'7 and. 38 carried in the respective nuts 16 and 1'7, but, when the latter are raised as will be described later herein, engage instead the two-needle off-set extensions 37 and 38 of said stops. It will be understood that the respective end and slide stops will be so set that the normal rod travel above described will provide for a two needle overlap feed required for the closed seam suture shown, except as nuts 16 and 1'7 are shifted, when the additional two needle travel, provided by slide stop extensions 3'7 and 38, are employed for rod 10 And it will be readily understood that with the spaced dogs 31, 31, thereof engaging the outside faces of slides 37 and 38 in nuts 16 and 17, a closing together of said nuts will increase the reciprocative traverse of said rod, thus increasing the number of needles fed thereby to widen the fabrics, and a separation of said nuts will reduce the number of needles supplied with thread to narrow the fabric. And the rods 10 and 10 engaging the inner faces of their respective stops 35 and 36 will correspond ingly vary the number of needles fed thereby, with a normal overlap feed of two needles of those supplied with thread from rod 10*.

Such normal over-lap feed of two needles is effective except as the nuts 16 and 1'7 are shifted to vary the needle feed of the respective rods, when additional travel of two needles for the rod 10 is required, as will be clearly set out later herein in connection with description of diagrammatic Fig. 11. And, as shown in the drawings, this extra feed is provided by vertical lift of the nut slides 3'7 and 38 to bring off-set faces 37 and 38 in position to engage dogs 31, 31 The controlled lift of said slides 37 and 38 is preferably effected as follows:

As clearly seen in the drawings, the special slide stops 3'7 and 38 have pins at their upper ends engaging the forked ends of their respective shifting levers 40 and 41, each pivotally mounted at 42 and 43 on its particular nut 16 and 1'7, and each lever preferably having, as shown, a slotted engagement with its pivot pin to permit disengagement with its stop slide when desired. The opposite ends of each lever 40 and 41 are widely forked as shown, with connecting rods 44 and 45 each forming a slide connection for the hooked end of its respective operating rod 46 and 4'7. The rods 46 and 4'7 are mounted to vertically slide in the special bearings of frame carried bracket 48 and end bearings of a yoke arm 49, and each rod carries a fixed collar 50, 51, tensioned by a spring 52, 53 to normally maintain it in vertically shifted position with said collar seated against its rod bearing in yoke 49. Yoke 49 is connected by a rod 55 to the end of a lever 56 pivoted at 5'7 and its opposite end carrying, as shown, an anti-friction roller 58 normally held by spring 59 in contact with a cam 60 on main cam shaft 8. Low portion of cam 60 permits spring 59 to swing lever 56 to lower rod 55 which it will be readily seen causes shifting levers 40 and 41 to raise slide stops 3'7 and 38. A latch lever controlled, as shown by a button on pat- 3 tern chain 30, through lever 66 and connecting rod 6'7, determines the times of the cam operation to raise slide stops 37 and 38.

As more clearly seen in Figs. 5 to 8, each rod 46 and 4'7 carries a fixed collar '70 and 71, engaged by spring joined latches '72 and '73 pivotally mounted on bracket 48. Said latches operate to hold their respective rods in lowered positions to which they are moved by lever 56, against the tension of rod springs 52 and 53 each adapted to reversely move its respective rod on release of its individual latch. Each latch, as shown, has an extension 72*= and '73 idly movable in one direction, but when moved in the reverse direction swinging its latch '72 or '73 free of engagement with its rod collar '70 or '71. Slur cock connecting bar 9, or an integral extension thereof is shown as carrying fixed projections '75 and '76 which are adapted to contact with the respective latch extensions '72 and '73 to release their respective latches '72 and '73 during reverse movements of said bar 9.

The action of a properly set button on pattern chain 30, it will be seen, frees lever 56 for operation of cam 60, said lever moving downward rod 55, which, acting through yoke 49, moves downward rods 46 and 4'7 to swing levers 40 and 41 causing them to raise their slide stops 3'7 and 38 to bring offsets 3'7 and 38 into the line of travel of dogs 31 on carrier rod 10'. When rods 46 and 4'7 are thus moved downward, latches '72 and '73 engage against collars '70 and 71 and prevent springs 52 and 53 from reversely moving said rods after lever 56 is again held in inoperative position by latch 65. Each latch '72 and '73 is disengaged by its slur cock projection 75 or 76 to free its rod, when said rod springs act to swing their respective levers 40 or 41 to relower the slide stop 3'7 or 38 for normal action of the latter. The necessity of the raising of slide stops 3'7 and 38 to effect an additional feed of its carrier rod 10', and the further requirement for separate lowering of said stops as above described, will be best understood in connection with the diagrammatic Fig. 11 and the following description of the same.

In Fig 11, the horizontal lines indicate the thread feed traverse'of the several rods 10, 10 and 10 in successive courses corresponding with the successive courses of the fabric shown in Fig. 10; the arrow heads on said horizontal lines indicating their direction of travel in each course; and the vertical dotted lines the spacing of two needle shifts by which steps the nuts 16 and 17 are moved and the traverse of rod l0 increased when its slide stops 37 and 38 are raised. Keeping in mind that the stop nuts 16 and 17 are moved apart to effect narrowing of the middle fabric section, and brought together to widen said fabric section; andthat the stop slides for the rods 10 and 10 are set with relation to special stop slides 37 and 38 to cause a normal overlap feed of two needles, the traverse of the several courses is as follows:

In the first course rod 10 travels from its end stop to the inner face of its stop 35 in nut 17 feeding its thread to the vertical line a, rod 10 travels to the outside of its special stop 37 in nut v16 feeding its thread from line a to line b, and rod 10 travels to its end stop, a normal twoneedle overlap feed occurring between the lines a--a' and b-b. In the second course the spindle 15 has been turned through a pattern chain button action to spread the stop nuts two needles, the rod 10 will now travel two needles further to contact with its slide 36 in nut 16, feeding its thread to the vertical line b rod 10 would travel normally two needles less, due to outward movement of its slide 38 in nut 17, but a button on pattern chain 30 has acted to free lever 56 from its latch 65, and cam' 60 has operated on said spring tensioned lever 56 to cause it to lift the slide stops 37 and 38 to bring their offset extensions 37 and 38 in action, thus rod 10 will travel an extra two needles feeding its thread to the vertical line a. instead of a, and rod 10 will travel to its end stop, this feeding causing an overlap of four needles on the right due to the widening shift of the stop nuts, and a normal overlap of two needles at the left. The slur cock projection 75, which travels equally with the carrier rods 10, acts in this course to free latch 72 thus lowering slide 37, while slide 38 remains raised to be normally lowered on reverse movement of said slur cock connecting bar 9 by its projection 76 contacting to free latch 73. In the third course shown the spindle has remained at rest and slide 38 lowered to normal stopping position, rod l0 will now travel two needles more due to shift outward of its slide 35, or to the line a rod 10 will travel from line a to line b; two needles less than its previous travel; and rod 10 will travel from line b to its end stop; this travel causing a four needle overlap at the left and a normal two needle overlap at the right. In the fourth course shown the spindle has not been turned. In this course rod 10 travels from its end stop to line b as its stop hasnot been changed; rod l0 travels from line b to line a; rod 10 travels from line a to its end stop; this feed causing a normal two needle overlap at the right and a normal two needle overlap at the left. In the fifth course the spindle has not been turned but'both slides 37 and 38 have been raised to place the off-sets 37* and 38 in rod stopping position, slide 38 howeverbeing returned to normal during this course; rod 10' travels from its end stop to line a as in the third and fourth courses; rod 10 travels from line a to line b, which is two needles more than normal due to its offset stop 37 acting; rod 10 travels from line b'to its end stop; the feeding described causing a normal two needle overlap at the left and a four needle overlap at the right. In the sixth course shown, the spindle has been turned to move stops 16 and 17 inward two needles each, and slide 37 has been returned to normal. In this course rod 10 will travel from its end stop to line b, two needles less; rod 10 travels from line b to line a, two needles further than in the fourth and fifth courses because of inward movement of stop 38; rod 10 travels from line a to its end stop; in'this course a normal overlap of two needles occurring at the right and a four needle overlap at the left due to the two needle additional feedof rod 10. A

It is thought that this diagrammatic showing will make clearer the action of the mechanism previously set forth. In turning the spindle to move the stops 16 and 17 apart, the slides 37 and 38 may be raised at the same time to bring into action their off-set portions 37 and 38, one being immediately returned to normal and the other returned to normal in the next course. In turning the spindle to move the stops toward each other, the slides 37 and 38 are first raised so that rod 10 may move additionally two needles, the slides are then returned to normal and the spindle rotated to close the nuts 16 and 17.

The narrowing and widening changes are ordinarily effected in separated course with normal overlap courses with the previous setting of the stop; and it will be noted that in narrowing the intermediate fabric effected through stops 37*, 38, the added overlap in the sutures occurs immediately in the narrowed course; but that .in widening this added overlap by means of 37, 38 occurs in a course immediately before that in which the change in the rod feed is effected by shifting of the nuts 16, 17.

While the suture shown is of the construction commonly known in the art as a closed seam, it is readily conceivable that by delaying the raising of the slides 37 and 38 until the-rod 10 has come to a preliminary rest against them, a delayed two needle feed may be secured by additional movement of said rod to their off-sets 37 and 38*, which would produce a usual open seam suture.

From the foregoing description of one specific embodiment it is believed the nature and operation of my improvements will be readily understood, and it is obvious that changes and modifications may readily be devised within the spirit of my invention as defined in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a full fashioned knitting machine having a plurality of reciprocatively traversed thread carrier rods each adapted to feed a separate thread to a different section of needles with overlap joint feeding on end needles of said sections. and stop devices for said rods simultaneously movable from and toward one another to vary in successive courses the number of sectional needles fed by the respective rods, of pattem-- controlled means for temporarily varying the stops for one of said rods, and means operated by said rod traverse mechanism for selectively returning said stops to normal position.

2. In a full fashioned knitting machine, a sectional fabric forming mechanism comprising, a plurality of reciprocative carrier rods adapted to feed their sectional threads to a series of needles, rod stop carrying devices simultaneously movable from and toward each other to vary the fabric section widths, rod-engaging stops in said carriers movable in one direction to vary the positions of their rod engagements, pattern controlled mechanism for moving said stops, and means actuated by the rod reciprocative mechanism for selectively moving said stops in the opposite direction.

3. In a full fazhioned knitting machine, a sectional fabric forming mechanism comprising, a plurality of reciprocative carrier rods adapted to feed their sectional threads to a series of needles, rod stop carrying devices simultaneously movable from and toward each other to vary the fabric section widths, rod stops in said carriers having normal and variable rod-engagements selectively positionable, pattern controlled mechanism for cooperatively moving said carriers from and toward one another and for positioning said rod stop variable engagements, and means actuated by the rod-reciprocative mechanism for selectively restoring the normal rod stop engagements.

4. In a full fashioned knitting machine, a sectional fabric forming mechanism comprising, a plurality of reciprocative carrier rods adapted to feed their sectional threads to a series of needles, rod stop carrying devices simultaneously movable from and toward each other to vary the fabric section widths, stepped rod-engaging slides in said carriers, pattern controlled mechanism for selectively moving determined steps into rodengaging position, and means actuated by the rod-reciprocative mechanism for changing the step engagements of said slides.

5. In a full fashioned knitting machine, a sectional fabric forming mechanism comprising, a plurality of reciprocative carrier rods adapted to feed their sectional threads to a series of needles, rod stop carrying devices simultaneously movable from and toward each other to vary the fabric section widths, stepped rod-engaging slides in said carriers, pattern-controlled mechanism for simultaneously moving said slides to position determined rod-engaging steps thereof, and means actuated by the rod reciprocative mechanism to selectively reposition said slides.

6. In a full fashioned knitting machine, a sectional fabric forming mechanism comprising, a plurality of carrier rods adapted to feed their sectional threads to a series of needles, rod stop nuts movable from and toward one another to vary the fabric section widths, rod-engaging stop slides in said nuts having oif-set rod engaging extensions, pattern controlled mechanism for moving said off-set extensions into rod-engaging positions, and means actuated by the rod reciprocative mechanism for moving said slide extensions from rod engaging positions.

7. In a full fashioned knitting machine, a sectional fabric forming mechanism comprising, a

plurality of carrier rods adapted to feed their sectional threads to a series of needles, rod stop nuts movable from and toward one another to vary the fabric sectional widths, rod-engaging stop slides in said nuts having off-set rod engaging extensions, pattern controlled mechanism for moving said off-set extensions into rod-engaging positions, latch means for retaining said slides in off-set position, and latch releasing means operated by the rod-reciprocatlve mechanisms.

8. In a full fashioned knitting machine, a sectional fabric forming mechanism comprising, a plurality of carrier rods adapted to fed their sectional threads to a series of needles, rod stop nuts movable from and toward one another to vary the fabric section widths, rod-engaging stop slides in said nuts having off-set rod engaging extensions, pattern controlled mechanism for moving said off-set extensions into rod-engaging positions, latch means for retaining said slides in off-set position, and means for releasing said latches separately in successive reciprocations of the carrier rods.

9. In a full fashioned knitting machine, a sectional fabric forming mechanism comprising, a plurality of carrier rods adapted to feed their sectional threads to a series of needles, a reversely threaded spindle, stop nuts reversely movable on said spindle, a rod-engaging stop slide in each nut having an off-set rod-engaging extension, mechanism to raise said slides to position said off-set extensions in rod engaging position, pattern controlled mechanism for raising said slides to position said off-set extensions, and means operated by the rod reciprocating mechanism for relowering said slides.

10. In a full fashioned knitting machine, a sectional fabric forming mechanism comprising, a plurality of carrier rods adapted to feed their sectional threads to a series of needles, 9. reversely threaded spindle, stop nuts reversely movable on said spindle, a rod-engaging stop slide in each nut having an off-set rod-engaging extension, mechanism to raise said slides to position said off-set extensions in rod engaging position, pattern controlled mechanism for raising said slides to position said off-setextensions, latches for holding said slides in raised positions, and latch releasing means selectively operated in successive carrier rod reciprocations.

11. In a full fashioned knitting machine, a sectional fabric forming mechanism comprising, a plurality of carrier rods adapted to feed their sectional threads to a series of needles, a reversely threaded'spindle, stop nuts reversely movable on said spindle, a rod-engaging stop slide in each nut having an oil-set rod-engaging extension, mechanism to raise said slides to position said off-set extensions in rod engaging position, pattern controlled mechanism for turning said spindle and raising said slides jointly to position their off-set extensions, latches for holding said slides in raised positions, and carrier rod actuated mean for relowering said slides separately in successive courses.

- GO'II'LOB BITZER. 

